Need to catch up?<\/p>\n
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Raised voices shattered the peace of the night, but Marcaeus no longer hoped for peace. At least, not until the Fates snipped every last thread of the Trasket dynasty.<\/span><\/p>\n Perhaps, not every one.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n He hadn\u2019t made up his mind on that particular point, yet.<\/span><\/p>\n Judging by the argument happening in the tholos behind him, Chariclo had.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou cannot ask this of him, Chiron!\u201d The thunder of toppling waves provided the musical accompaniment to Chariclo\u2019s fury.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t ask him. It was his idea!\u201d Chiron retorted, but his wife\u2019s wrath proved great enough to drown out any protest.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou meddle in the affairs of the Gods!\u201d Another violent blast of punishing sea proved this already tiresome argument was far from over.<\/span><\/p>\n It wouldn\u2019t change the outcome. Far from it. Chiron\u2019s resolve might weaken in the face of his mate\u2019s anger, but no tender feelings could move Marcaeus now. He\u2019d made up his mind with regards to this course of action, so there was no reason to doubt it.<\/span><\/p>\n He vaguely sensed someone approaching the rise of plush silver grass he rested upon but he didn\u2019t move. There was no danger here, inside Chiron\u2019s temple.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAre you hiding?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus opened his eyes at the voice. \u201cI was attempting to transport my mind elsewhere.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He sat up to face Chiron\u2019s daughter, Melanippe. Like her father, she tended to stand with her arms crossed. Like her mother, her entire form was made of the sea, which somewhat affected the visibility of the gesture.<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus was familiar enough with Melanippe\u2019s body to recognize the posture right away. \u201cWho are you here to scold? Me, or your parents?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAll three of you.\u201d She sat on the grass beside him. He assumed his human glamor to mimic her two crossed legs.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUgh! You look so strange that way.\u201d She gave him a shove and her gaze wandered downward. \u201cThough I see you\u2019ve been quite generous with this form.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He chuckled and shifted back. \u201cI kept things proportionate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Melanippe curled herself against his side, nestling her head in the crook of his foreleg. \u201cYou flatter yourself.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus toyed idly with a strand of seaweed that floated close to the surface of her hair. Where Chariclo shimmered like the clear blue Aegean, Melinappe was the forbidding, deep green of the night sea at storm, even at her calmest. The form suited her; her practical nature controlled the tempest within. She wouldn\u2019t let her sentimentality stop her from questioning him, even if she wouldn\u2019t like the answers. \u201cAre you really going to join with the human?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cUnfortunately.\u201d He wished they could discuss anything else. \u201cI am sorry.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI understand. You\u2019re committed to healing the mortal world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Her easy acceptance of his decision stung. \u201cYou might behave as though this troubles you at least a little.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She tipped her face up, blinking her large, pupiless black eyes. \u201cMarcaeus, I accepted a long time ago that you would never be mine.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI am yours,\u201d he protested. \u201cNo matter what that cursed Oracle says.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She laughed as though he\u2019d told a joke. \u201cDo you really believe you\u2019re wiser than the Oracle? Not that we ever needed to consult them in the first place. I\u2019ve known the truth of our relationship for a long time. You may hold me close to your heart, but I doubt anyone will ever truly claim you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n There was no point in arguing against the truth. \u201cIf anyone could, it would be you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s not what the Oracle said.\u201d She dipped her head but couldn\u2019t hide her fond smile. \u201cBut I know you believe it\u2019s true. That\u2019s\u00a0\u00a0enough for me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The Oracle. If things could be damned in Elysia, Marcaeus would curse them now.<\/span><\/p>\n How had Melanippe convinced him to seek the Oracle\u2019s counsel in the first place? He wished they never had. They\u2019d entered the temple seeking wisdom and confirmation that the Fates had braided their threads of life together so tightly, the bond would never be broken.<\/span><\/p>\n They\u2019d left broken, themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n He studied her face silently, for as long as he could bear. Since that day, no matter how many had passed, Melanippe\u2019s presence always brought him back to that awful day, the only time he\u2019d ever seen her weep. Though Chariclo and Chiron had both assured him that Melanippe had accepted the Oracle\u2019s vision of her future–a future that Marcaeus would not occupy–he still blamed himself for wounding her.<\/span><\/p>\n Pottery crashed in Chiron and Chariclo\u2019s tholos.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAre you certain you aren\u2019t devastated that we won\u2019t be joined by Hera?\u201d Marcaeus quipped.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201c”Such a union sounds so peaceful.\u201d Melannipe struggled to say in seriousness before they both dissolved into laughter.<\/span><\/p>\n Too loudly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Chariclo called, \u201cDaughter? Are you eavesdropping?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Melanippe got to her feet, and Marcaeus flicked water from his hair.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo, Mother,\u201d she called. \u201cMarcaeus was eavesdropping. I was just keeping him company.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Chariclo emerged from her chamber and glided across the moon-kissed grass toward them. \u201cMarcaeus,\u201d she began, stopping with her watery hands clasped against her breast. \u201cCan we not dissuade you from this folly?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t come to dissuade him,\u201d Melanippe interjected.<\/span><\/p>\n Chariclo\u2019s clear, blue eyes widened. \u201cI don\u2019t understand.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMelanippe and I discussed it.\u201d. He couldn\u2019t resist adding, \u201cAt a civil volume.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou must excuse me for being so concerned about the happiness of my daughter and my husband\u2019s protegee!\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cHe would never have been happy with me, mother.\u201d Melanippe didn\u2019t need to shout to silence her mother. \u201cBesides, you know that the Fates will not bind us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Fates can swallow their own eye, for all I care!\u201d Chariclo snapped back.<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus noted the way Melanippe\u2019s fists curled, not a movement of violence but one of resolve. Perhaps this proof of her sadness and frustration should have comforted him. His eyes did not tread such shallow waters. He wished, not for the first time, that he could take her pain away.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMy happiness doesn\u2019t matter.\u201d Marcaeus wondered if he should have those words painted somewhere in his office, to remind him daily. \u201cWe can\u2019t let the demon realm gain control of the mortal world.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n All three of them knew it, but Marcaeus assumed it was more difficult to watch one\u2019s child face heartbreak than to endure it one\u2019s self. He wouldn\u2019t begrudge Chariclo her anger. Nor Melinappe\u2019s, should it manifest.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThere was no no promise between your daughter and I,\u201d he said gently. \u201cI think she\u2019ll agree that I never led her on.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Melanippe nodded before he\u2019d finished speaking. \u201cI have no desire to be with someone who would not be happy with ame. And I would loathe myself if the mortal realm fell into peril because of my hurt feelings.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Chariclo studied them both, as if deciding whether two naughty children lied to her. \u201cA joining can always be reversed,\u201d she stated finally. She narrowed her eyes and turned away. \u201cI\u2019ll intrude upon your goodbyes no longer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n As she glided away, she paused to call back, \u201cOh, and remember, Hera requires a night and a day of chastity before you petition her. Enjoy your evening.\u201c<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus stepped behind Melannipe and leaned down, lowering his voice and carefully watching to be certain they were once again alone. \u201cI forgot the chastity part. I wish I could give you a proper goodbye.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIs that truly the only farewell scenario you\u2019re capable of imagining?\u201d She drifted away toward the fountain, sighing, \u201cCentaurs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat else could I leave you to remember me by?\u201d he teased.<\/span><\/p>\n She pretended to consider. \u201cA constellation? Nyx would charge you your weight in ambrosia, but it would be a fitting tribute to all the good times we\u2019ve shared.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI could rearrange the stars completely and hardly match the splendor of our night on Olympus after Hephaestus\u2019 birthday.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n They fell into a somber quiet, Melanippe circling the fountain slowly. Her fingertips trailed along the dry lip of the basin, wetting it in their wake. \u201cI know what you can leave me with.\u201d Her voice quivered. \u201cTonight, spend the last of our time together pretending things are exactly the way they used to be.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen? Before I became a C.E.O?\u201d What an astonishingly silly sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNo. Before that. When you were still my\u00a0\u00a0father\u2019s student.\u201d She made another pass around the fountain to reclaim the bits of herself she\u2019d left on the stone.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAh, before we were brave enough to look each other in the eye.\u201d That shy fondness was centuries away from them, now.<\/span><\/p>\n Melanippe played along in their bittersweet game of memories. \u201cWell, you\u2019d been warned not to concern yourself with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cAnd you\u2019d been warned about what young Centaurs are like.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n A pang pierced Marcaeus\u2019s heart. His eyes met Melanippe\u2019s, and as a cosmic veil fell between them, they knew. This was the moment that the Oracle had predicted. The Fates had finally severed the last of the thread between the lovers he and Melanippe used to be.<\/span><\/p>\n She turned away first, wiping bursts of sand from her eyes as though he would not see them. \u201cWhat is she like?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus did her the kindness of returning her light, conversational tone. \u201cI don\u2019t know. What little time I\u2019ve spent with her, she\u2019s as insufferable as many of her kind. Unable to see past their needs and wants, willing to do anything, no matter how desperate, to get what they believe they deserve.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBe kind to her. She\u2019s a mortal. They have so much fear because their lives are too short.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Melanippe\u2019s generosity toward the mortal condition reminded him uncomfortably of Fiona and her own generosity of spirit. \u201cShe falls victim to another human failing. She cares too much.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cFirst, she\u2019s selfish, and now she\u2019s too caring?\u201d Melanippe\u2019s tide had somehow turned against him in the conversation. \u201cShe was loyal to her friend. She used the only tool at her disposal. Aren\u2019t you doing the same?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus raised a brow. \u201cAnd what do you know of her loyalty?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat? You\u2019re not the only one capable of eavesdropping,\u201d Melannipe observed without remorse. The roiling sea within her calmed; without her waves and currents, stillness erased some of her features.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Marcaeus remembered long nights lying awake, her sleeping form coating him like dew.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMortal hearts are fragile,\u201d she warned softly. \u201cAnd they fall too easily. Don\u2019t let this woman dash hers to pieces over you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhat happens to her heart is of no concern to me.\u201d Not when he had to cut Melanippe\u2019s apart because of the human\u2019s actions.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou have never been cruel.\u201d Melanippe flowed toward him, rising on a tidal surge to stand at his impressive height. \u201cIt was your kindness that captured my heart. Not your ruthlessness. Don\u2019t lose yourself, my love. If I can\u2019t keep the heart that won mine, at least, tend it in my absence?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ll try.\u201d It was the strongest vow he could make. \u201cEvery hour I spend with humanity infects me with their materialism and greed.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThen you might consider looking for the best of humanity, instead of the worst.\u201d Melanippe receded. \u201cAnd you might learn something from this human. You\u2019re angry now, but you\u2019ll see the good in her. You\u2019ll see that her loyalty to her friends is not a failure.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Melanippe studied his face for a long moment, the moon above reflecting off the darkened sea glass of her eyes. \u201cI would stay by your side now,\u00a0 but you need time to think. This won\u2019t be a successful\u2013or pleasant\u2013endeavor if you spend every moment you\u2019re together resenting her. Use this time to find your patience.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI will <\/span>try,<\/span><\/i>\u201d he reiterated, leaning on the last word.<\/span><\/p>\n A mischievous shimmer enveloped her form and another surge washed her against him and over him. He couldn\u2019t control his shudder of pleasure and heard the musical drip-drop of her laughter behind him.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cEnjoy your chastity and self-reflection,\u201d she said, giggles punctuating her sentence.<\/span><\/p>\n He turned to watch her go, the moonlight playing off her waves until she blended into the darkness, leaving him alone with memories he would rather not let go.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Need to catch up? What is\u00a0The Business Centaur\u2019s Virgin Temp?\u00a0 The Business Centaur\u2019s Virgin Temp: Prologue The Business Centaur\u2019s Virgin Temp: Chapter One The Business<\/p>\n